$ 15 a yard

[mpriester]

lowballers are everywhere. i had a guy walk up to me last year bragging he was charging $20.00 and acre. i looked at him and said congratulations with a smile and as he was walking away pulling his pushmower and carrying his gas can i looked at my wife with a grin and said he won't be here long. one of my best customers i got last year was being mowed by 1 man with a push mower and it took him 3 days to mow, they contacted me last may and have been using me ever since and i also do their snow and ice control. hang in there, the low ballers will price themselves out of business and not only that when the weather gets hot and these guys don't show up in 90deg plus temps they will call you and most won't argue price.

[CHEESE2009]

@LEON


I think you are doing something right. You are adjusting yourself, so that you would be able to prevail if and when the economy goes to hell.

If you can run a successful business, charging low prices, you're ahead of the game.

In my area, there is so much competition that the 'hero' would need to have TONS of clients, and to be efficient as possible. These are good grounds to adapt to the worst, and grow from there.

Running a business with low profit doesn't hurt unless you play your cards right. The top businesses in the world, like;

McDonalds & Wal-Mart.... How expensive are they? Not at all! Sure you can say, "The quality is not the same as other places";

1. It could be the same or better, for YOUR business.
2. People don't care about quality anymore as long as you have generic standards.

In a way, it can be strategic to lower costs whenever possible in order to remove your competition. You would need to cover a lot of ground first though, and be super-productive!

[Leon]

I like that comparison to Walmart..I shop there all the time I go for 1 item and come out with the whole kitchen sink. I am a have been doing good for a few years on that price system. I can do a Townhouse in about 10-15 mins I use a push or a 36" and if I have a helper for that day there string trim, edge, and blow time total time from unload to reload about 9mins. Thats only if we are doing 1, most of the time I am doing about 5-10. I had a lady call this week she does not want her lawn mowed every week so I charge her $25 every 2 weeks plus $15 for spot weeding her front flower bed. and that after I charge her $175 for Mulching, spade edging and weeding the flower bed. Mulch I pay about $2 per bag I charge for 3 bags @ $6 =$18 plus $147 for labor. Total time for me and a helper 45mins. I pay my helper $12per hour. My cost for the job $24 my approximate $141 not bad for 45min..WAIT my helper owe's me $3 he only worked 45min..just joking. The $15 add is a way to get the customer to call. I know my work ranks up there with the best. ANYONE can mow grass but the key is can you stand out from the rest. My price can stay the same for mowing why go up.

Here a thought for you.... $15X4=$60 month just mowing. Now add $175 for mulching,egding,weeding flower bed up to 4bag of mulch, (spring). Fall Mulching $125, Fall seeding and aeration $125
so we have mowing total $420 for (6) months of service +mulching $350+ seeding$125 TOTAL $795 monthly payments over 12months under $75.

BUT they have to pay $250 down and now the BALANCE is $545 cost is only $49 a month for 11months. $49X150= WIN WIN
ANYONE can mow grass but the key is can you stand out from the rest. My price can stay the same for mowing why go up.


Leon
Can You Envision the Possibilities...We Can

[abbot]

As far as the ad. You guys as landscaping service providers should have insurance. If not, GET it.

If you have insurance, then you need to ADVERTISE IT. Put a small icon on every piece of promotional material "fully insured" Most smart people will go for a company that is insured. If they are not so bright. Explain to them this;

"Well, Mr. Homeowner, yes, my price IS higher. But, with me you know that I am a REAL business. And because of that, I carry liability insurance. Here is a "statement of insurance and financial liability" from Nationwide Insurance. I'm sure you've heard of them. Yes, see right here? I carry 1 million dollars worth of liability. Now, what a lot of people DON'T know is this. If that cheap guy comes in and cuts your lawn, and happens to cut off one of his toes while doing it, guess who is liable? That's right, YOU are. Well, your homeowners insurance is. And you can bet that some jury will award him a huge settlement, because he can't walk right ever again. And he'll claim he can't WORK ever again either. Now, your insurance company will have to settle up with him. But that isn't the problem. The problem comes when they DROP YOU. They will do this because you hired an uninsured contractor, and they will see you as a great financial risk. When you go to look for homeowners insurance again, it will be a nightmare. Most companies will refuse to insure you, and the ones that will are going to charge you BIG dollars to do it. Now, you are probably saying to yourself "this is just a sales tactic". You are correct, Mr. Homeowner, it is. But, it is also THE TRUTH. Just call your insurance agent and find out."

You'll notice that, while you are saying this, most people will open their eyes up REAL big. They NEVER thought of this! Now they see HUGE financial loss in paying higher insurance. And usually, they realize that paying twice the price for lawn service isn't NEAR as bad as paying 2 or 3 or 4 times the price for homeowners insurance. Or even worse, living WITHOUT homeowners insurance. Most of the time they sign right then and there.

Just point out the reality of the situation. Oh, and ALWAYS have a statement of insurance with you

[SECTLANDSCAPING]

Theres a guy charging $65 a house for pressure washing. I called him a few times to bust his balls. I told him I would let him do all my houses for $65 if I was confident of his workmanship. He seemed to think he knew what he was doing. lol... I wouldnt wash your front steps for that. I make well over a $100 a hour and get 4/5 jobs I quote. Sell quality not price.

[Chaz]

Originally Posted by shadrach

Use it to your advantage. Put a line in your ad that says

" We fix $15 cuts"

i love this!